The Denver Pioneers are ranked third in the nation for their offensive productivity this season. They’re also the No. 4 seed for the tournament beginning this week. On the other side of the field forthis Sunday’s matchup at DU is Brown University, seeded No 13/10 and ranked tenth in the nation for offense.
Many of the Pioneers’ opponents this season weren’t able to match the offensive productivity as mentioned. DU has a machine gun of an offense and usually doubles up scores against their foes. This week should be a better test of Denver’s defense against a higher ranked offense.
DU has a plethora of high-end athletes to get the job done. For one, Wes Berg was named a Tewaarton Finalist this week, the first Pioneer player to make the final cuts. Connor Cannizzaro is on fire this season, and Zach Miller has been cashing in shots for goals in clutch moments. LaPlante is a powerhouse in the cage behind his solid defense.
Brown is led in productivity by sophomore Dylan Molloy. He’s accumulated 89 points already this season behind 59 goals and 30 assists. His efforts were rewarded by the Ivy League naming him Co-Player of the Year.
The Bears have seen NCAA playoffs 13 times in the history of their program, the most recent appearance back in 2009. The team is hoping to have a 2014 Bryant-like performance and upset DU.
Of all three goaltenders for Brown, junior Jack Kelly has seen the most minutes this season, and has a save percentage of 56.7% with 187 saves so far.
No surprise that Cannizzaro leads the Pioneers offense, but with 79 points. Ten fewer points than Brown’s leading scorer. Though Brown has totaled 363 points this season, DU has deposited 342 points in 2015. If this doesn’t put the offenses into perspective, then nothing will.
The fact that the Pioneers have all their points spread out around numerous players makes them efficient and effective. However, Brown has nearly just as many scorers and have actually out-scored DU when considering points. Actual goals, Denver has deposited 210 compared to Brown’s 228.
This is bound to be one of the most exciting first round games of this year’s tournament. Expect more goals than usual in this year’s postseason as the majority of teams participating are offensive powerhouses. This should easily be demonstrated in Sunday’s game between DU and Brown.
Game time is set for 1pm Mountain Time at DU’s Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. Tickets are on sale now, and the game will be nationally broadcasted on ESPNU.
